Silent Hunt
by paranoid woman
Summary: 4th chapter up - David wants to know everything about the lady that strangely caught Colby's attention. A HET series about how sometimes things seem to be fine but they aren't at all. Colby/OFC, Don/Robin, Don/OFC. Feedback is love.
1. Prologue

**Title:** Prologue  
**Series**: _Holding on to a lie_  
**Characters:** Charlie/Amita, Don/Robin, Colby  
**Rating:** M  
**Spoilers:** None.  
**Summary:**Sometimes things seem to be fine just the way they are, and sometimes they need to change.

**Feedback:** I love feedback. :)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Numb3rs or anything related to it, but I do own the original ideas and any OCs.  
**Beta:**_Thanks to my amazing beta._

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

**Silent hunt**

_Prologue_

It was a sunny Tuesday afternoon and everybody was busy as usual.

Charlie and Amita were at CalSci, writing equations on the blackboard, loading data into prediction models, discussing the multiple versions of a solution to a single problem.

The one they were currently working on was giving them a hard time, but Charlie seemed to be the most annoyed among the two of them. "This is almost like P vs. NP," he stated, waving his hands in the air, "I work over and over on this problem, and I can't find the answer to it! It's so frustrating…"

"Oh, don't worry, Charlie… We'll work on it together. I'll help in any way I can," Amita said sweetly, putting her arms around him and kissing his chin.

He held her and looked at her with loving eyes. "I know you will." They kissed slowly. "Ok, break's over. There's work to do. A diabolic equation to solve."

"Yeah…"

They separated and Amita sat at the desk. Then she started typing some common errors that could make the result of the algorithm vary, and she focused so much on that that she forgot that Charlie was there, in the same room.

On the other hand, Charlie was not thinking about her anymore either. The numbers had taken over his head, and all he could do was adding more implications to his equation and look at the same papers over and over again.

Still, Charlie couldn't find an answer to his math problem. While he tried to get some help from a book, he looked through his office's window. It was such a beautiful afternoon, and he loved staying at the university working in what he was passionate about the most.

The quietness of the place was a little awkward, though. There was something wrong about the path his life had taken. In a way, he knew that he needed an explanation for the feelings that had started to overwhelm him a few days ago, after kissing Amita like he always did. Charlie had no idea what they really meant, and he would have to wait to find that out.



Don didn't have that kind of problem. He was happy and satisfied with his new relationship with Robin. They shared the same point of view on things, both related to work and life.

At the moment, they were taking a walk on a park, sipping their coffees, laughing and holding each other's hands.

"What? No work for the rest of the day?" Robin asked him, smiling sweetly.

"Nope. I've got all afternoon for you," he responded, and they kissed.

They continued walking around and enjoying the day. There was nothing that could separate them, there was nothing that could make Don lose his trust in her.

Or at least that's what he thought.



The person who didn't have any kind of problems related to relationships was Colby, because he had no relationship at all. In fact, he hadn't had one in the last four years. It wasn't that he didn't want one, the problem was that he couldn't find the right person. Someone sweet and interesting. Someone who could support him no matter what happened.

But at the same time, he didn't want that person to end up helping him share the wounds of his heart, so every time the opportunity to meet a woman and have a date with her came up, he tried to avoid attending to it. His past was his pain to carry, and no one else's.

He was in his apartment, folding some clothes again, which he had just gotten back from the laundry. There, inside his mostly empty bedroom, Colby could hear the noises of the city. They weren't too loud, but they were loud enough to make him remember that the rest of the world had a love life and he didn't.

Breathing softly, Colby stared at the window and then approached it. He looked through it and had to cover his eyes a little so the sun wouldn't hurt his eyes. It was all so calm and nice outside that day that he wished he had a significant other to share it with.



That Tuesday afternoon was special for every one of those men. Charlie, Don and Colby were in different situations, but they would be soon connected by people that fate had decided to bring into their routines.

They didn't know that three women were about to arrive, each one at the perfect time, to make their lives change forever.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

_**A/N: FEEDBACK IS LOVE.**_


	2. A childhood friend

**Title:** "A childhood friend."  
**Series**: _Silent Hunt, _Part 1/?  
**Characters:** Colby/OFC, Don, Charlie, Alan  
**Rating:** M

**Warnings:** None.  
**Spoilers:** None.  
**Summary:**Colby meets a woman that seems to be both sweet and mysterious.

**Feedback:** I love feedback. :)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Numb3rs or anything related to it, but I do own the original ideas and any OCs.  
**Beta:**_Thanks to my amazing beta._

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

**Silent hunt**

_Chapter 1 – A childhood friend_

After a very stressful week, Don and Charlie had invited Colby to have dinner with them so they could get some hours to relax and talk. It was eight o' clock at night when the three of them sat at the table, exhausted because of all the hard work.

"I can cook something for us in five minutes," Charlie announced with a tired voice.

"Oh, I highly doubt that," Don responded with a smirk.

"Ha-ha," his brother said, and went to the kitchen, leaving Don and Colby alone. They just stayed there, on their own chairs, breathing heavily. It was one of those moments when Colby could actually feel the weight of his body and it seemed to be dragging him onto the floor.

"This is nice. Just… relaxing for a while," he muttered, starting to close his eyes.

"Yes… finally," Don agreed, and Colby saw him lay against the back of the chair; he would probably fall asleep at any second.

However, the sound of a ringtone woke him up. Don grabbed his phone with one hand and rubbed his eyes with the other. Taking a deep breath and glancing at Colby, who covered his mouth to hide a yawn, he said, "Eppes." His face immediately tensed a little, like he didn't know who he was talking to. A few seconds later, his eyes sparkled, and he smiled in amusement. "Sarah, is that really you?" he asked, and Colby paid attention to the conversation. After all, that woman had to be special if she could make Don smile like that.

"Here? Yeah, I know that nostalgic feeling. Believe me, with my job and all, I'd love to be able to spend some more time with my family," Don continued. "Sure, sure, we're both here. But wait, how did you find out my number? Oh, I see... I'm so going to kill Charlie." Then he laughed and muttered, "Ok, ok... I can't wait to see you, we'll be waiting for you."

Don ended the call and put away his cell phone. Then he stared at a wall, and yelled, "Charlie… did Sarah Mayers contact you today?"

Charlie's voice came from the kitchen. "Oh, yeah! I forgot to tell you. She sent me an e-mail today, and we met in a chat room later, a while ago. She wants to see us, she's feeling a little melancholic about her childhood. Besides, she says she needs some information for a project she's involved in."

Surprised, Colby watched Don's face tense again, meaning that he was totally annoyed by his brother's attitude. "He's very good with numbers, but he stills forgets to tell me the important daily stuff," Don whispered, speaking to himself.

Soon, Charlie approached the table, carrying the dishes. "Why? Did you talk to her too?" he asked.

"Yeah, she just called me. She says she's arriving in ten minutes, that you told her she could stay here for a few days. I was supposed to know about it, you know. You were supposed to tell me."

"Ok, ok, I get it. I'm sorry," Charlie shook his head, and put the dishes on the table. "Dad knows, anyway. Oh, I can't believe we're going to see her again. It's been so long."

It seemed that Don had realized that Colby didn't have a clue of what he and his brother were talking about, because he explained, "Sarah's an old friend of us, and basically the only one Charlie and I shared when we were kids. She used to live next door."

"But then her parents divorced and she had to move to another state with her mother, so we didn't see her anymore. It was a shame…" Charlie added, and went to the kitchen to get the food.

A few minutes later they were eating the sandwiches Charlie had prepared. While they talked about whether they were good or not, Colby watched Don bug his Charlie for not telling him about Sarah coming, but then the conversation took another direction. Still, it seemed that both brothers were very excited about her arrival.

At nine o'clock, when Charlie had just gone to the kitchen again, there were noises outside the house. Don went to look through the window, and Colby followed him. A gloved hand opened the door of the vehicle, and a woman who was dressed in a nice grey coat and a winter cap stepped out of it. The taxi driver helped her to unload at least four heavy suitcases that had been settled in the passenger's seat, the back seat and the trunk. Then she paid him for the ride and shook some snow off her clothes.

It was a little bit dark and it was snowing, but Don seemed to recognize his friend. Colby could tell because of his smile when he followed her moves. And when she turned around and Don laughed, Colby was sure of it.

Of course, Colby paid attention to who that woman was. Even if darkness wasn't helping, he could see that her hair was brown and it fell a little over her shoulder, because it wasn't too long. The winter cap was actually cute.

"She's been into those winter caps since we were kids," Don muttered, still smiling. "She's here, Charlie!" he yelled, and he went outside to receive her. Colby followed him again but he stood at the door because it seemed to be the most appropriate thing to do until Charlie or Don introduced him to the lady.

"Sarah?" Don went towards her, and she smiled waving her hand in a friendly way. Her face shined with excitement. Her chocolate brown eyes were warm and confident. She was a nice, beautiful woman, but then again, physical beauty wasn't something that could turn him on in a second. He was looking for someone who had more than that… Maybe what David had said once was true. Maybe he did have "high standards" when it came to relationships.

Or maybe he just kept making excuses and raising those standards so he could hold his heart together. Not getting involved with anyone was a good way to avoid people to have to bear his past.

Colby found himself noticing all those things, and he tried to get himself together. He didn't know her. How could she make him think about all that? He hadn't even talked to her yet. As far as he knew, she could be a total fiasco.

And then she spoke. "Hey, Don!" Sarah said, and Colby felt his chest start to go on fire. It was like her simple presence there, that sweet voice, had made his world come apart. For no reason at all.

He shook his head, put his hands into his pockets and continued listening to her and Don.

"Sarah Emma Mayers, I can't believe you're here," Don said and kissed her on the cheek. Then he hugged her, and she seemed to be very happy to see him.

"Well, I guess some things never change. I had the feeling I would be called by my entire name by you, just like in the old days," Sarah joked, and then she tried to grab three of the four suitcases she had brought with her. She immediately stumbled with a little back that had fallen from her hand, and fell to the floor. "And apparently, I'm as clumsy as usual."

While Colby watched her curse the snow in amusement, Charlie passed by him and went to meet Sarah, too. Her eyes sparkled when she saw him, and apparently she forgot about the snow, because she ran towards him and hugged him. Then she tugged at his curls. "My god, your hair is still so hard to dominate."

"Hey, it got better and you know it," Charlie said, a little offended.

She laughed. "Well… yeah, I guess that's true."

"Oh, c'mon. Tell me, how have you been?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah, where have you been working, what's been going on with your life?" Don continued.

"Are you married? Because if you are, we'd definitely like to meet your husband." Charlie added.

"Of course." Don nodded, smiling.

Sarah lifted her hands and waved them to the sides. "Hey, hey, guys. Time out, I've just arrived. One question at a time. I can't tell you everything in five seconds. It's been like a million years since we saw each other for the last time!"

"And that's exactly why we need to catch up. C'mon, Chuck, let's take her luggage to the house."

"You still call him 'Chuck'? Ok, things haven't changed here at all," Sarah giggled, and went towards the front door, carrying a very heavy suitcase. He found Colby at the doorframe. "Hi, I'm Sarah Mayers," she introduced herself and firmly shook Colby's hand. "Could you give me a hand with this? 'Cause I'm predicting some serious trouble if the tons of papers I have in here get damaged."

"Sure, sure," Colby responded and took the suitcase. It was weird that she was so honest and confident with him, like she'd known him forever. In a few seconds, her personality had made him curious. He helped her to bring some other stuff to the house, and every time she stumbled with the snow and cursed it, he couldn't help staring at her.

When the four of them entered the house, Don said "Hey, why don't you let me take your coat?" and Sarah accepted the suggestion. She also took off her gloves and her winter cap and rubbed her hands together. Inside of the Eppes' residence it was warm and nice and comfortable, and she sat on the couch when Charlie invited her to.

"This place, unlike the people, has changed a lot. It's too… calm, it seems," she muttered, looking at the furniture and the family pictures. "Your mother looks so beautiful in that picture. How is she, by the way? 'Cause I'd love to say 'hi' to her."

Charlie and Don's faces lost their happy grins and became worried and sad. Considering the way Sarah looked at then without understanding, it was more than obvious that she didn't know anything about Margaret's death. Colby decided that a moment of giving such bad news was not meant for him to be there, so he retired to the kitchen. However, he could still hear them speak in whispers.

"Don, Charlie, what's going on? Did something happen to Margaret?"

"Mom… she passed away," Don muttered.

Silence was kept for a few seconds.

"What?" Sarah said, in shock, her voice breaking. "When? How?"

Charlie answered her questions. "Five years ago. Cancer."

"Oh my god…"

Colby heard some noises in the living room and took a peek. He found Don and Charlie still seated on the couch, but being held by Sarah's support. The Eppes' brothers were holding her too, while she cried softly.

Colby said to himself that he should have gone home. He didn't need to be there. Maybe he could grab his jacket and leave without anyone noticing it.

But then he heard the front door opening and Alan's voice. "Oh, hello!" Charlie and Don's father said when he saw a somehow familiar, female figure holding his sons. "Did something bad happen while I was gone?"

"No. It happened while I was gone," Sarah answered, and got up. Alan received a very sad, old friend in his arms. He recognized her bright eyes, so curious as they had always been, and carried her pain.

After a little while, Sarah stopped crying. She kissed Alan's cheek and then shook his hand. "I'm sorry for taking the bad memories back, but I couldn't hold myself…"

"Don't apologize, Sarah. We all mourned my wife. We all still miss her so much, there's not a day we don't suffer her absence," Alan said to calm her down, and after those words, Sarah seemed to relax a little.

Then the ambience got somehow melancholic. Everybody joined Colby in the kitchen and insisted him not to leave, so he ended up accepting the invitation to stay and have a real meal for the first time in what it seemed to be ages.

The five of them ate a very good spaghetti Alan prepared with Charlie's help, even if there was already food at the table. The conversation was nice, and slowly all the good memories came back to life, even the ones that involved Margaret.

So that night Colby discovered that Sarah Mayers had been the Eppes' neighbor for more than ten years. When Charlie and Don were kids, they had spent a lot of time with her, playing games in the backyard of their house. Now she was an economist who worked for a national research institute. She was also doing some work she had left that included theories related to childhood, psychology and the election of a career, and how that could contribute to the nation's development.

"Don't say it like that. It sounds like you only came here to study us," Don said, and smiled, because he was obviously joking.

"I know, I know. It's interesting to get to know about how the two of you, being so different, ended up working for the FBI," she responded. "But I really, really wanted to see you. That time of our lives was very important to me, believe me."

She spoke from the heart, and seemed to be very honest about everything. She would probably spend several days with the Eppes family, no matter what her plans for later could be. Colby thought that it would be interesting to see what Amita would think about another woman living with her boyfriend.

Sarah didn't seem to be able to put that relationship at risk at all, though. She was just being friendly; there wasn't any underlying intention to get any kind of romantic interaction with the brothers. And that was weird, considering that most of the women Colby had met had been interested in one of them Well… all of them except Megan. But Megan was a special case; she had been seduced by the most awkward physicist in the world, something that Colby still couldn't figure out.

There was a moment when Colby and Sarah were left alone. Alan, Charlie and Don went to wash the dishes and insisted that they kept talking while they finished cleaning everything up.

It was almost a tense moment, because Colby and Sarah didn't know each other and they haven't talked much that night. She took a sip of her glass of water and he started to speak.

"So, you knew Charlie and Don since they were kids."

"Yeah," she rapidly said, still drinking the water. She sounded tired and not very chatty right now. Colby assumed she wasn't paying any attention to him.

"My name's Colby Granger. Don's my boss and Charlie's my friend."

"I know. By the way, does that mean Don's not your friend?"

"What? Why do you ask that?"

"Because you mentioned them separately, like you had a different relationship with each one of them."

"Well…" So, she was actually listening, even when she didn't seem to. That was something that Colby should remember from now on. "I have to say Don's almost my friend. You know, I feel he's still my boss even if I'm here at his house sharing a meal with his family."

"And their childhood friend."

Colby smiled, a little embarrassed. "Yeah. Sorry I didn't count you there. No offense."

"Non-taken."

"Oh. All right."

He watched her get up and admire the pictures of the Eppes family again. Considering the way she deeply studied the ones that included Margaret, there had to have been a very special bond between her and Charlie and Don's Mom.

Alan entered the room carrying a bunch of flowers that he was supposed to arrange the other day in the backyard.

"Those are nice, Mr. Eppes. What are they?" Colby asked, because the flowers were really beautiful.

"Oh, these? These are Callas…"

"Calla Lily… Zantedeschia aethiopica, from the Araceae family," Sarah immediately muttered, her smile growing wider, while she went towards Alan and caressed the petals of the flowers. "I'm kind of obsessed with gardening. Sorry if I sounded a little crazy."

"Oh, that's ok. I've been hearing Charlie and Don talk about their work for years, so I'm used to obsession," Alan joked, smiling at her.

To Colby, she looked as amazed as Charlie when he talked about math. But there was something very different about her, about the way she looked at the flowers, her eyes sparkling and her smile curved in a sweet expression of fascination.

Strangely, she seemed to have a warm aura around her. Colby couldn't exactly tell what it meant, but whatever it was, he knew that he wouldn't be able to get Sarah out of his head since then.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

_**A/N: FEEDBACK IS LOVE.**_


	3. Special delivery

**Title:** "Special delivery."  
**Series**: _Silent Hunt, _Part 2/?  
**Characters:** Don/Robin, Charlie, Alan, OFC, David, Colby, Megan.  
**Rating:** M.

**Warnings:** None.  
**Spoilers:** 4.13 – Black Swan.  
**Summary:**Someone leaves and someone returns.

**Feedback:** I love feedback. :)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Numb3rs or anything related to it, but I do own the original ideas and any OCs.  
**Beta:**_Thanks to my amazing beta._

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

**Silent hunt**

_Chapter 2 – Special delivery_

The morning came and it was very cold, because the snow in L.A. was completely historical and unexpected. With the horrible weather, Don had decided to crash on the couch, and the next morning he woke up very early. _I have the right to get a cup of coffee. This used to be my house, after all._

Rubbing his eyes to get the grumpy expression off his face, he went to the kitchen and found that the coffee maker was already working. _Charlie._

He turned around and there it was his brother stepping into the kitchen with his hands full of papers. "Oh, good morning, Don."

"Good morning." Don couldn't restrain a yawn, and he opened his arms trying to stretch. "When will the coffee be ready?"

"In a second."

"Ok."

Stumbling a little, Don leaned on the counter and yawned again.

"It seems you've slept well," Charlie muttered, smiling while he looked at his equations.

"Yeah… The couch was as comfy as I remembered it to be," Don said, joking. The sofa obviously wasn't the first place he'd choose to sleep on. "But after last night, I was so tired I slept like a rock. Snow in L.A.? C'mon!"

Charlie went to lean on the counter beside him. "Snow _and_ Sarah's arrival. Her return has been exciting, hasn't it?"

"Well, yeah, I mean, look at her; she's a professional and all, kind of like you. I guess the part of her that had something to do with me when we were kids was beaten by the intellectual side that was attached to you."

"Maybe… But who knows? She could work for the NSA and we'd never know about it unless we actually had to work on a case together."

That made Don remember something. He smiled and said, "Yeah, don't even mention that. I'm still a little upset that you never told me that about yourself."

"If I would have told you, I would have been forced to kill you," Charlie said, laughing.

"You'd kill your own brother?" Don joked.

"I'd try to do my best not to, but if the Agency found—"

"Oh, god, what are you two talking about?" Alan's voice surprised both brothers and they laughed together. Their father seemed to have stepped into the room and taken their words seriously.

Within a second, Charlie held his father and clarified everything. "We were just kidding, Dad. Of course we'd never hurt each other."

Alan simply shook his head. "Well, don't give your father heart attacks from silly jokes, ok?"

Don and Charlie laughed again, and then the oldest brother asked, "Hey, where's Sarah, by the way? Is she still sleeping?"

"I don't know, I haven't seen her yet. Maybe she is," Alan muttered, and Charlie shook his head, meaning that he didn't know anything about her either.

And then someone stumbled with her stuff while she walked down the stairs.

The three men went to meet her and saw her trying to bring her huge suitcases downstairs.

"What are you doing?" Don asked. He frowned when he actually saw how she looked like now. Her hair was ruffled, her clothes were all wrinkled; but the strangest thing was that Sarah was wearing glasses. Don remembered that she'd never had any kind of problem with her eyes when she was a little girl. She looked so nervous now, so different from the nice, confident woman who had arrived to the house last night.

And yet, there was something that hadn't changed. Sarah still acted like a very sweet person. She smiled awkwardly and said, "I'm leaving. I'm so sorry, guys."

"What?" Charlie said, going towards her. "But you just got here. We were expecting you to stay for a few days…"

"And one night was more than enough for me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Don had taken that as some kind of offensive statement.

She ran her hands through her hair and took off her glasses. "Oh, it sounded so awful. I didn't mean to say that I wasn't happy to stay here, because I was. I'm just saying that… I don't think it's the right thing to do, since we haven't talked in a long time… I need to find a place for myself."

_Hold on, hold on right there._ "Why? It's ok that you—"

"I… I really have to go."

Don thought about the reasons she may have to want to leave. Obviously, Charlie was doing the same thing, because he asked, "Are you in trouble? 'Cause you know, maybe we could help you…"

"No, no. I appreciate it, believe me, but I really need to get a hotel room. That way, I'll feel comfortable enough about everything."

Don was about to say something else when his cell phone rang. "Eppes. Yeah, ok. I'll be there in ten minutes." There was a new case. "I need to go," he announced, and after that he looked at Charlie, who ran towards Sarah and tried to make her change her mind for the last time.

It didn't work. She shook her head again and asked them to let her get a hotel room. There was a cab outside already, waiting for her. She had called it before coming downstairs. "Please, I need to do this… Maybe someday I'll be able to tell you why."

Charlie was speechless. "But Sarah… we don't understand…"

"It's not about you, guys. It really isn't. I just have some… issues. Issues I really can't talk about right now. I'm so sorry." She squeezed Charlie's shoulder and went through the door.

"Take care," he told her.

Now Don went towards the door too, and watched her hand the cab-driver her luggage. "Will you call us, sometime?"

She was about to get into the car when she said, "Yeah… I will, don't worry about me." Now Sarah smiled, looking a little bit similar to the person she had been the day before. Then she got in the cab and waved her hand.

Don lifted her hand, smiling, not quite sure about what to think of her actions. _But she said she'd call, and that eventually, she'd tell us what's going on with her. _Then he turned to his brother. "I don't get it. Why did she leave, just like that?"

"I don't know, it makes no sense," Charlie agreed, taking a deep breath.

"It looked like she was running away from something… or someone. But I don't think we're the ones that are scaring her, so… no idea what is going on in that head of hers," Alan added.

There was no point continuing discussing the issue, the only thing they could was wait to get news from her. "Ok, I gotta go to work. Let me know if Sarah calls, ok?" Don muttered, and he went to grab his keys.

"Yeah, I gotta go to CalSci, too," Charlie responded.

Once Don got his keys, he left the house. "Bye, Charlie."

When Don got to the office, he found the team waiting for him with a tense expression on their faces. "Wow… What's going on?"

Everybody looked at each other, like they were deciding who was going to speak first. _Is the news so bad that they're afraid of what I might say? That's crazy. I've always been able to control myself._

And then Megan said, "It's about… one of the last cases we had…"

"Which one?" Don asked.

"Do you remember… Isaac Meechum, the guy that wanted to blow up that meth lab?"

Don got immediately nervous. Meechum was a person who had been stuck in his brain for a few months, now. There was something about him that usually slipped into his dreams, like his instinct was trying to tell him something. "Yeah… I remember. What about him?"

It was David's turn to talk. "He's been given a chance to have access to a trial."

"You're kidding."

"He's not," Colby muttered, shaking his head.

"The guy was some kind of terrorist, and they're letting him…" Now Don walked around the room, trying to concentrate on what was really important, and that was his new relationship, his family, his job. He didn't need to get so worried for a person that would mostly not get that trial. "You know what? I don't care. He's not going to win that, anyway," he stated, and he was sure of it. "So, did anything else, happen?"

"Well, there's another case we need to get our hands on," Colby said, and then things started to get a little better. Even if trying to find a drug dealer wasn't exactly thrilling, at least Isaac Meechum had nothing to do with it.

Don spent his entire day feeling tired and annoyed by the news he had received. But he knew that when duty was over, he could always go to see Robin and ask her to take him in her arms to calm him down.

"Hey," she said when she opened her door for him. "Are you ok? You look exhausted."

"That's because I am." He entered her apartment and kissed her on the lips. "How are you? 'Cause I'd love it if you said to me you're great. I could use some 'cheering up' from my favorite attorney," he added, smiling sweetly.

"Ok… I could be 'great' if you'd want me to," Robin teased him, kissing him again. Then she broke the kiss and went towards her kitchen. "Would you like to eat something? We could call for a pizza, since I don't really have that much time to prepare home-made food with my job and everything…"

"Yeah, let's call for a pizza. Now that you mentioned it, I'm pretty hungry… of a lot of things…" Don loved to play these little games with Robin, he adored been able to do that with her, without feeling that what they had wasn't really going to last.

He smiled, making her lips curve in an adorable smirk while she grabbed her cell phone.

An hour and a half later, they were lying on the bed together, eating some Chinese food. Apparently, the pizza hadn't been enough for Don. They were laughing while they kissed softly, the TV screen showing them the images of an old movie.

And then the apartment's door bell rang.

Don broke their kiss and talked very close to her lips. "Were you expecting someone?"

She laughed sweetly and looked deep into his eyes. "No. I arranged this time to be only for you, like the other day when you chose to spend your whole afternoon with me."

"And I thought my arrival had been a surprise…" he teased, and he added, "So this is some kind of deal to you?"

"Yeah… and we both win."

Smiling, they kissed each other while holding hands. The bell rang again.

"Oh, damn it," she said after she broke the kiss this time. Then Robin started to get up, but Don held her hand firmly.

"Don't go… Stay here…"

She laughed again and playfully muttered, "Don, would you give me back my hand, please?"

"No… you said 'No work'."

"Yeah… but who knows, this could be important."

As she seemed determined to get that call, Don immediately got up. "Ok, I'm taking care of it."

"Taking care of what?"

"Of answering the door."

Now Robin seemed to be a little annoyed. "I don't need you to be my bodyguard, Don. I can do that myself. I've dealt with a lot of criminals, I'm perfectly capable of…"

"Hey, look," her lover stated with a serious tone of voice. "Someone tried to kill you before. I'm not letting anyone get close to you without me checking them first, ok?"

"But…"

"I do it because I care about you. Would you let me take care of that door, just in case?"

Taking a deep breath, Robin looked into his eyes and said, "Fine… Go."

They walked towards the door. "You stay there until this is safe," Don asked her.

"Whoever that was there must have left already. We've been discussing about this for the last five minutes, and he or she hasn't called again."

Still, Robin waited at the door of the living room, waiting for Don to see who had come to her apartment. He finally opened the door, and no one was there.

But there was a little wrapped up package, similar to a gift, on the floor. He checked that no one was in the corridor, and then he grabbed it carefully.

When Don closed the door, Robin asked, "What's that?"

"I don't know. Let's see." Don put the package on the table. "Please, step way from it, just in case something happens."

"Do you think it's some kind of bomb?"

"I don't know."

"That's ridiculous," she insisted. "I don't have a case at the moment and besides—"

"I said I don't know!" Don yelled, and then he apologized for that. "I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to yell at you."

She didn't answer; Robin simply crossed her arms and waited for him to do what he wanted.

Slowly, Don opened the gift. It was a little cardboard box, and inside it had a cell phone and a note.

_**Dear Special Agent Eppes,**_

_**A special delivery for you.**_

_**My voice will be heard. **_

_**At my trial, through my story, it will get out.**_

"What is it?" Robin asked for the second time, probably because Don wasn't saying anything.

"Um… maybe I shouldn't…" He really didn't want to worry her with the threatening note.

But she seemed not to let him do that. "Oh, c'mon, Don, just tell me. Aren't you comfortable enough to share it with me?"

"No, no, it's not that. I'm just… surprised," Don muttered. "Look."

When Robin approached him, he showed her what was in the box. "Oh my god… Who could have done this?"

"I don't know," Don muttered, and they both stared at the cell phone and the note, trying not to touch them just in case there were any fingerprints. "I don't have any idea, but whoever sent this, is been following my every step."

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

_**A/N: FEEDBACK IS LOVE.**_


	4. Love gone cold

**Title:** "Love gone cold."  
**Series**: _Silent Hunt, _Part 3/?  
**Characters:** Charlie/Amita, Alan.  
**Rating:** M.

**Warnings:** None.  
**Spoilers:** None.  
**Summary:**Sometimes people realize that their love has gone cold.

**Feedback:** I love feedback. :)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Numb3rs or anything related to it, but I do own any OCs.  
**Beta:**_Thanks to my amazing beta._

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

**Silent hunt**

_Chapter 3 – Love gone cold_

"Hey, how did that case go, Charlie?" Amita asked when her boyfriend entered his office at CalSci.

"It was hard, but we caught the guy eventually. How have you been?"

"Fine, I've been fine," she responded. "You know, my parents called me today."

There was a silent smile from Charlie as a response. _Amita's parents._ A shiver went through his body while he pulled out some papers from his suitcase and started to look at some files he had on his desk. "Um… ok. What did they say?"

"They want to come visit us to talk about something 'important.' I don't know what it is. Maybe they want to offer you some kind of job, who knows," she said, giggling while she started typing on her computer.

Charlie couldn't help but notice how much she was glowing. "I love it that you're smiling so much, I love your smile."

Now, Amita looked at him, smiling widely; for a moment, it seemed that she was going to cry. "Yeah, I am. I mean, they're finally staying in touch with me, they're finally showing some interest in the life I have here in L.A."

He watched her stare at her laptop, like she was embracing the warm feeling that had reached her heart. Slowly, he went towards her and took her hand. "I'm glad you're happy." Amita's head rested on his arm for a second, as she entwined their fingers together.

"Yeah…" she muttered, and she kissed his hand before going back to work on her database.

Amita smiled for the entire evening. It was overwhelmingly beautiful to see her so pleased that her parents were taking a big role in her life after avoiding meeting her for such a long time.

But Charlie wasn't that happy. Her parents were coming to L.A. and they were going to bring some kind of news or suggestion. _What if they want to arrange everything for a wedding? _Alan's words were still fresh in his head. In India, tradition seemed to be always followed. Now that Charlie had met Amita's parents, he had probably agreed to marry her without actually saying a word.

He wasn't an expert on the Indian marriage, mainly because he had never thought about marrying Amita. It wasn't that he didn't love her; the point was that his work with the FBI and his classes seemed to be more important. _But the right thing is wanting to marry her. She's the only woman I've been with in two years…_

A while later, he hadn't find the key to understand his own behavior. Amita was now writing on the blackboard… he wasn't really looking at the algorithms that usually caught his attention.

"I should want to do it, but…" he mumbled, while he stared at his girlfriend.

"What did you say?" Amita asked; she turned around.

Charlie shook his head and stated, "Nothing, nothing. I'm talking to myself." _No staring anymore. You're being stupid. This is what you said. This is nothing._ He tried to focus on his equations; maybe if he worked on them, they would give him the answer he so very much wanted.

But Charlie got too desperate and his hands started to tremble as he flipped papers and tried to grab a piece of chalk.

"Charlie, you seem to be really tired… why don't we just go home?" she suddenly asked him.

The mathematician left his chalk and rapidly went towards his laptop, to close it up. Running his hands through his hair, he muttered, "Yeah, we should probably do that… It's been a long day."

"Ok." Amita started to gather her stuff, and put her coat on. "I'm going to call a cab for each one of us."

"Hey, why don't you stay with me tonight, at the house?"

_Where the hell did that question come from?_ As confused as he was, Charlie knew that he felt guilty because of his own feelings. He should be happy to marry Amita no matter what, because, after all, he loved her…

He had to love her. Who would he love if it wasn't her?

A new shiver ran through his spine when Amita went towards him and gave him a hug. Ashamed of his thoughts, Charlie didn't responded the same way he always did.

"Hey… is there something wrong? Are you ok?" she asked, stepping aside, but still caressing his arm.

"Um… I'm… Yeah, I'm ok. I'm just a little tired, that's all," he managed to say, and he started putting things back into his suitcase.

Charlie still didn't know how the hell his brain had forced him to invite Amita to spend the night with him. _Why couldn't I just swallow that stupid question?_ He needed time to think about what he was feeling, and now he would have to do it lying by her side in bed.

When they got to the house, they found that Alan was about to go to bed. Apparently, he was very tired because he had been working in the garden the entire afternoon.

"Hi, Amita. Hi, Charlie," Charlie's father said, and he stopped right before the stairs to look at his son. "Are you ok?"

"Oh, yeah… it's nothing, Dad, I'm just tired," the mathematician lied, waving his hand. _This is nothing. This is nothing._ He repeated the same sentence over and over, trying to find a meaning to it, but he just couldn't figure out why it seemed to be a lie.

It seemed that Alan hadn't believed him either, but he still went upstairs without saying another word. Then Charlie took a deep breath, and he and Amita went to the kitchen to grab something to eat before going to sleep.

During their little dinner, conversation was nice, sometimes full of scientific issues, sometimes plenty of little words and gestures of affection. He could smile when Amita touched his face, even when she placed a kiss on his lips. But there was something that felt fake, something that had started to tell him he was hiding something from her.

_This is nothing._ _I can do it. I can handle this. Of course I love her. I'm just freaking out because of the simple idea of a wedding. I'd have the same reaction with any woman, so it doesn't mean that I don't want to be specifically with Amita. _With that idea going around his head, he actually had a good time letting her take him to his room by the hand, tease him when they were changing their clothes, and drag him into bed without any complains.

He knew nothing wild was going to happen there, because Alan was around and he had found them in an inappropriate situation a couple of times before. As one time was more than enough, Amita and Charlie had made a deal. No more sex with Alan in the house.

And yet, she seemed a little eager. Breathing hard, Charlie caressed her girlfriend's thick hair while she placed little kisses on his chin and neck. "Amita, do you remember the deal?"

Now she stopped kissing him and rested her head on his chest. "Yeah… I do remember." Then she looked him in the eyes. "I wasn't going to do anything, don't worry."

Looking at the bright, honest expression she had on her face, Charlie couldn't resist smiling. "Ok…" He tenderly kissed Amita's forehead, and they rested on the bed, sheets tangled, staring at the dark room full of papers.

"Charlie…"

"Mhmm?"

"Have you ever thought about marriage?"

_What?_ Charlie took such a deep breath that he felt his heart was about to explode from the shock that question had brought to him. "Oh… yeah, sure… I've thought about it."

"And what was the conclusion?"

Charlie swallowed and carefully spoke the best words he could find. "I, ah… I think marriage is good. Weddings are good; I mean, people want to spend the rest of their lives with only one person…" He swallowed again, aware that Amita was paying attention to everything he was saying. "But I… I don't know if that's meant for me. I plan to live my life the same I do now, you know… working for the FBI, using my math to solve cases… teaching young people how useful a simple algorithm can be… The area is fascinating. It's… it's where I belong."

He felt like he was about to faint while waiting for Amita's answer. But the only thing she said was, "So you're not into the marriage thing."

"Um… No, not really. It's too much pressure…"

"Charlie." She called his name, and then she rested on her elbows, looking at him very closely. "Marriage isn't pressure unless… you don't really love the one that's lying by your side."

Her teary eyes told him what she meant._ I've sent the message, and she got it right. Damn it, I've officially ruined the night. _Now, he watched her take the right side of the bed, far away from him. She held a pillow and didn't talk to him anymore.

This was Amita. Always keeping the pain to herself, not wanting to hurt others. _How could I not love someone who's so fragile, sweet and caring? _

He gave his back at her, molding his body to the mattress in the left side of the bed. Silence was overwhelming now, he wanted someone to step in and make her forget about their conversation, but he also knew that it wasn't going to happen.

_She's an intelligent, beautiful, amazing woman. How could I not love her? _

Two hours were spent trying to figure out an answer to that. But when Charlie finally closed his eyes and the room started to disappear and lose its meaning, he knew that he hadn't found any excuse for his lack of commitment to the only woman who seemed to want to marry him.

_This is nothing. This is nothing._

He repeated that sentence one more time, and a possibility hit him.

_This is nothing. And maybe what we have is nothing, too._

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

_**A/N: FEEDBACK IS LOVE.**_


	5. Interrogation

**Title:** "Interrogation."  
**Series**: _Silent Hunt, _Part 4/?  
**Characters:** Colby/OFC, David, Don.  
**Rating:** M.

**Warnings:** None.  
**Spoilers:** None.  
**Summary:**David wants to know about the lady Colby has just met.

**Feedback:** I love feedback. :)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Numb3rs or anything related to it, but I do own any OCs.  
**Beta:**_Thanks to my amazing beta._

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

**Silent hunt**

_Chapter 4 – Interrogation_

Late that night, some more information about the new case that had come up today arrived to the FBI. As a result, Colby and David were doing research at their desk.

They spent some time in silence, typing at their computers. The atmosphere had been thick since Don had found out that Isaac Meechum had been given a chance to defend himself.

But eventually, research started to become tedious, as usual. Suddenly, David spoke up; "So, what do you think of that trial?"

Colby didn't turn around; he responded to his partner's question, while he continued to type. "Um, I don't know. I don't trust the guy, but then I think I'm not the best person to talk about betraying your country."

The answer left David speechless, because he didn't say a word for a few seconds. Yet, Colby heard him mutter, "Hey, don't say that. We've already talked about it, it's in the past, ok?"

Slowly, Colby took a deep breath. "Yeah, I guess."

Silence came again between them. Again, David was the first to talk. "So, anything new?"

In a way, Colby was relieved that his friend had changed the subject. "No… not really," he said, while he got up to grab some files. He saw that David was reading a profile on his screen.

"Nothing?"

"Nope."

"Ok… this is terrible, man," David stated, looking at Colby while he waiter for the printer to finish. "We really need to talk about something when we're together in moments like this. Stakeouts are going to be pure hell."

"I guess so…" Colby muttered, shaking his head, and he took the papers he was waiting for once they had been printed. As he went to sit down again at his desk, he muttered,"You know, actually, I met someone last night…"

"When you were at Charlie and Don's?"

"Yeah."

Without any warning, David slid his chair until he got to beside Colby. The green-eyed agent froze just before his hands landed on the keyboard, and he looked at his friend raising his eyebrows.

"What?"

"You… 'met someone.'"

"Yes, that's what I said."

David gave Colby a skeptical look and asked, "Who is she?"

"I never said it was a woman," the other man said, starting to type data into his computer again. But David kept talking; he didn't seem to want to end the conversation there.

"Well, you never say 'I met someone' when it's a guy. You just say, 'I met a guy.'"

"Oh, c'mon. It's not that big deal."

"So it _is_ a lady, indeed," David said, and he smiled.

Even if Colby kept doing his job, he was sure that any kind of social interest he could have, would make David react that way. "Yes, David, it's a woman, are you happy now?"

"Not until you tell me more about her."

Colby shook his head, trying to describe Sarah as good as he could, considering he was trying to find a suspect of a murder at the same time. "She's a friend of Charlie and Don. They knew each other since they were kids, and apparently the three of them used to play a lot together at their backyard."

He could hear David snort. "Together? Don _and_ Charlie… actually were enjoying the same game, at that age? At that time of their lives, if I remember well, they weren't exactly close, since Charlie was a genius already and he demanded a lot of attention from his parents."

"Yep."

"Wow, that's disturbing, man. She must be special if she could gather them together like that."

"I don't know. She's… a little weird."

"Weird how?"

"Just weird," Colby repeated, but then he tried to explain himself a little better. "When she arrived to the house, she stumbled with her stuff; actually, she seems to be a very clumsy person, even if she apparently is a very smart economist."

"Aha. Did she stay for dinner?"

"Yeah, she did."

"Did you talk to her?"

"Yeah…" Colby nodded. "David, what is this, an interrogation?" He turned to his friend, feeling offended, but when David gave him that skeptical look again, he took a breath and said, "We talked for like a minute. She didn't seem to be listening, but she was… Conversation was weird. She was weird."

"_You_ were weird."

"No, I wasn't."

Now David looked at Colby in the eyes, like he was trying to make a point. "Oh, yeah? How can you be so sure? From what I'm seeing my friend, just thinking about this woman makes you nervous, so I bet you acted weird last night."

"No, I…" And then Colby had to confess. "Ok, I was a little weird, but just because she was weird, too. It's not that she makes me nervous."

"So I take it as you weren't interested."

"Look, man, she's a nice lady and all, but I'm not on the market, ok? I've had some difficult issues to get over with and I want to take some time to recover from that. I'm not thinking about dating someone or anything like that at the moment."

David seemed to take a moment to process the data Colby had given him. "So she's weird and nice. And she got your attention, but you don't want to get involved with anyone at the moment."

For the third time, Colby took a deep breath. "Can we talk about something else?" Luckily, he saw his friend returning to his place at his own desk. Unfortunately, their talk wasn't over yet.

"I don't know. Considering this is the only real news we have to tell each other, maybe it should become our new regular source of conversation."

"Please, get over it, David. It's nothing. It's just a woman. You'll probably never even meet her anyway."

"What does that have to do with anything?" David wanted to know.

"It means that you shouldn't make assumptions about her and me. She's just someone I met, like I said. It's not like I see a woman and suddenly fall for her. You know me."

"Ok… Sorry about that. I won't bring up the issue again if it makes you uncomfortable."

"Thank you," Colby said, and continued typing. But immediately after, he could hear David whisper to himself, "My friend, I was so right. You have really, really high standards, and low social skills…"

Annoyed, he tried not to pay attention to the comment, and he was starting to get focused on work when Don came in with a very worried expression on his face and a box in his hands.

"Don, what's going on?" Colby got up, and so did David.

When their boss approached them, he said, "Someone made a 'special delivery to Robin's apartment." Don went towards the lab, leaving the two members of his team behind.

"What is it?" David asked, almost yelling, because Don didn't seem to be paying attention only to the package.

"It's a threat addressed to me."

"Is it dangerous?" Colby needed to know.

"I don't know yet, but I'm going to find out," Don stated while they got into the elevator. And before the doors of it closed, David and Colby were already by his side. "This person seems to be following me, because the package arrived to Robin's apartment a couple of hours after I arrived. I don't know."

"Is Robin ok?" the green-eyed agent muttered, while he looked at David.

"Yeah, I've already assigned her a protection detail."

"Good. What about you?" David intervened.

The door of the elevator went open, and Don was the first to step out of it. "I'm used to deal with this kind of stuff. I'm going to get this guy, no matter what happens. He's not hurting anybody, trust me."

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

_**A/N: FEEDBACK IS LOVE.**_


End file.
